To the End of the Line
by Narutoverse
Summary: In Starting City, Kirito made a choice. To leave behind the only friend he had in Kayaba's death game and focus solely on keeping himself alive. He always regretted it. All the way until they escaped Aincrad and even after. But what if he made a different choice? What if the Beater wasn't completely alone in his quest to escape the Virtual prison that was Aincrad?
1. Day 1

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Sword Art Online

* * *

"Ahh… ha… uwahh!"

The sword, swinging to these strange shouts, swished around cutting nothing but air. Right afterwards, the blue boar, which moved surprisingly quick considering its bulk, charged fiercely at its assailant. Kirito burst into laughter after watching him fly through the air after getting hit by the boar's flat nose and roll on the hill.

"Hahaha…not like that. The first movement is important, Klein."

"Argh…that bastard."

The complaining assailant, a party member called Klein, got up and glanced at him while answering plaintively.

"But Kirito, even if you say that. . .I can't do anything about the fact that it's moving."

Kirito had met this person, who had reddish hair held up by a bandana and simple leather armor worn over his thin body, a few hours ago. If he had revealed his real name, it would have been hard to omit the honorifics, but Klein and Kirito were both fake names. Made up for their characters in the game. Putting "-San" or "-Kun" at the end of them would sound comical more than anything.

The legs of the person in question started shaking.

 _Seems like he's a little dizzy._ Deciding to enter the fight himself, Kirito picked up a pebble from the undergrowth at his feet and raised it above his shoulder. As soon as the system detected the first motion of a sword skill, the pebble started giving off a slight green light.

After that, his left hand almost moved by itself and the pebble went flying, drawing a straight line of light and hitting the boar between its eyebrows.

The boar squealed in fury and turned towards him.

"Of course they move. They're not training dummies. But if you start the right motion, the system will put your sword skill into motion and hit the target for you."

"Motion. . .motion. . ."

Nodding and muttering the words like a spell, Klein raised the cutlass that he had in his right hand.

Although the blue boar, officially named «Frenzy Boar» was a level one monster, Klein had lost almost half of his HP while getting hit by the boar's counterattacks due to his wild swings.

 _Well, even if he died he'd just respawn at the «Starting City» near here, but coming all the way out to this hunting ground again was somewhat annoying. And I'm not going to be here waiting for him if he does die._ Kirito decided. He had logged on to play SAO after all, not train a noob.

It seemed like there was one move left before the fight reached its conclusion. So he would give Klein a few more pointers before letting him try one more time.

Blocking the boar's charge with the sword in his right hand he started his last lesson.

"Hmm, how should I explain. . .It's not like one, two, three then strike, but more like gathering a bit of energy and then. As soon as you feel the skill start, it goes BAM and you feel it hit the monster. . ."

"Bam, eh?"

Klein grimaced as he leveled his sword with the middle of his body.

After taking a deep breath, he lowered his pose and raised his sword as if he was going to shoulder it. This time, the system sensed the pose correctly and the arcing sword slowly started shining orange.

"Ha!"

With his low yell, he jumped off the ground with a movement that was completely different to the ones before. Swish-! With this crisp sound, the sword drew its flame red trajectory through the air. The «Reaver», a basic skill of the one-handed curved sword, struck the boar right in its neck as it was about to charge and the rest of its HP, which, like Klein's, was about half full quickly fell into yellow, and then red before the bar above its head vanished.

-it screamed a pitiful cry and its large body shattered like glass and purple numbers appeared, showing how much virtual experience points Klein had gained.

"Whoooo!"

Klein struck an exaggerated pose of victory with a huge smile on his face and raised his left hand. Kirito high-fived him and smiled again.

"Congrats on your first victory. . .but that boar — it's about as hard as slimes from other games."

Klein's smile faded.

"Eh, really? I thought it was some sort of semi-boss or something!"

"No chance of that."

Kirito's smile became a little forced as he sheathed his sword on his back. Even though he was teasing Klein, he understood what he was feeling right now. Since he had two more months of experience than him, it was only now that he could feel the exhilarating feeling of destroying his enemy by his own hand.

Klein started to use the same sword skill over and over again yelling as he did so, perhaps as a way of practicing.

Deciding to let him be Kirito looked around.

The endlessly stretching plains gave off a beautiful red as the sun had started setting. Way up north, there was the silhouette of a forest, a sparkling lake down south, and he could just make out the walls that surrounded the city to the east. To the west, there was a limitless sky going on forever with golden clouds drifting by.

They were at the plains that stretched to the west of the «Starting City», which was situated at the north end of the first floor of the colossal floating castle—«Aincrad». There should be numerous players fighting monsters around here; but because of the enormous size, none of them were visible.

Seeming finally satisfied, Klein sheathed his sword and walked over while observing the area as well.

"But really. . .however many times I look around like this, I still can't believe that this is inside a game!"

"Well even if you say _'inside'_ it's not like our souls were sucked in or anything. Our brain's just seeing and listening instead of our eyes and ears. . .with the signals that the «Nerve Gear» is sending."

Kirito explained with a shrug.

Klein pouted his lips like a kid. "You might be used to it now, but for me, it's the first time doing a «FullDive»! Isn't it awesome? Really. . .it's a relief that I was born in this era!"

"You're exaggerating." Kirito laughed.

But he totally agreed with him.

«Nerve Gear».

That's the name of the hardware that moved this VRMMORPG— «Sword Art Online».

The basic structure of this machine is totally different from the older ones.

Unlike the old-style man-machine interface hardware like _"flat screen monitors"_ or _"controllers that you used with your hands,"_ Nerve Gear only had a single interface, a streamlined interface that covered the whole of your head and face.

Inside, there were numerous signal components, and by using the numerous electronic signals these sent, the gear accessed the user's brain itself. The user didn't use their eyes or ears to see and listen but took in the signals that were sent directly to their brain. In addition, the machine could access not only sight and sound, but also touch, taste, and smell as well—that is to say, all five senses.

After slipping the Nerve Gear on and locking the strap on your chin in place and saying the initiation command «Link Start», all noise fades away and you're standing in a world of white. As soon as you pass the rainbow-colored circle in the middle, you're in another world made entirely out of data.

A «FullDive».

It was a total seclusion from reality, fitting of the word "full."

The reason for this is that the Nerve Gear not only sent fake signals to the five senses but it also blocked and rerouted the orders that the brain sent to the body. To keep players from getting out of bed or wherever they were using the Nerve Gear and running into a wall when they «Ran» in the game.

Klein was staring at the wind passing through the plains and the castle walls off in the distance with actual tears in his eyes.

"So SAO is the first game for the Nerve Gear that you've played?" He asked not mentioning the tears.

Klein, looking like a calm warrior from the Sengoku period, turned his head my way and nodded.

"Yeah."

He had an impressive bearing about him, worthy of an actor from a historical play. Of course, this was different from his actual body in the real world. It was an avatar made out of nothing from adjusting a bunch of options.

 _Not that I'm one to talk._ His avatar looked like some ridiculously handsome protagonist from some fantasy animation as well.

Klein continued in his low vigorous voice, which, of course, was different from his real voice as well.

"Well, to be exact, I sorta bought the hardware in a rush after I managed to get my hands on SAO. There was only ten thousand in the first batch. So I suppose I was really lucky. . .well, if I think about it, you were ten times luckier when you got picked for beta testing. They only picked a thousand!"

"I suppose."

Kirito scratched the back of his head as Klein kept staring at him.

It was uncomfortable, but again, he didn't say anything. He remembered the excitement and enthusiasm that «Sword Art Online» created when it was announced through the media like it was yesterday.

Nerve Gear had realized the future setting for gaming with FullDive. However, due to the innovation of the actual machine, only unremarkable titles came forth for the all-important software. They were all puzzles, education-related or environmental type games, calling forth discontent from game addicts such as myself.

Nerve Gear could render an entire virtual reality.

But in those games, you could only go a hundred meters before hitting a wall. They were all letdowns to hardcore gamers like him. So he, and others like him waited.

Waiting for a network response game—a game that let millions of players log in and raise, fight with and live as a character of their own.

Waiting for an MMORPG.

And when it finally came. The first VRMMORPG, «Sword Art Online». It was everything he had been hoping for and more.

The stage for the game is a floating castle consisting of 100 floors.

The players lived in a world with forests and lakes, relying on only their sword and drive to discover the route to the upper floors and defeat countless monsters and make their way endlessly to the top.

«Magic» which was considered to be an indispensable part of fantasy MMORPGs had been boldly cut out and an almost endless number of skills called «Sword Skills» were made. It was part of a plan to let players actually feel the experience of fighting with their own bodies through FullDive as much as possible.

Skills were varied including productive skills such as smithery, leatherworking, and sewing, and everyday skills such as fishing, cooking and playing music, allowing the player to not only adventure the huge game but also actually «live» in it. If they so wanted, and if their skill levels were high enough, they could buy a house and live as shepherds.

Information about the game was released steadily building up to its launch and Kirito had read and watched everything he could about SAO.

Then the Beta was released.

The beta test only recruited a thousand testers; it's said that one hundred thousand people, the number of half the Nerve Gear sold at that time, volunteered to be a tester. Luck was the only reason that he got through the narrow gap and was picked. Also, beta testers received the additional benefit of being given the priority when the game officially came out.

The two months of beta testing was like a dream. At school, he thought endlessly about his skill set, equipment, and items, and at the end of the day, he ran all the way home as soon as school ended and dived till dawn. The beta test ended in the blink of an eye, and on the day his character was reset, he felt a sense of loss. Like he was losing part of himself.

And now—November 6, 2022, Sunday.

«Sword Art Online» after all the preparations had been finished and at 1pm officially started its server service.

After he had logged onto SAO, he had started running through the nostalgic stone-paved roads of the «Starting City» to go to the weapons shop. Thanks to his participating in the beta test he knew the shortcuts and alleyways that would get him there in the fastest alotted time.

Klein had noticed and after realizing I was a beta-tester had followed me.

He had begged me to show him the ropes of the game. And Kirito still didn't know what it was about the guy but he had agreed.

 _And now here we are._ After hours of roaming the countryside and fighting boars, they were just sitting on the grass looking out at a world that felt too real to be anything but.

During beta testing, he had gotten to know a couple of people but didn't get close enough to anyone to actually call them a friend. Truthfully, he wasn't a people person in game, and even less of one IRL.

But Klein grew on you after awhile. He didn't feel uncomfortable around his new friend anymore, which was a shock, but not an unwelcome one. So he opened his mouth.

"So. . .what do you want to do? Do you want to keep hunting till you get used to it?"

"Sure!. . .is what I want to say, but. . ."

Klein looked at the bottom right of his vision, obviously checking the time that was displayed.

"I should log off and eat. I ordered some pizza for 5:30. The game can until after I get my pizza on."

"I guess."

Kirito said looking back at the world around them.

"Hey," Klein said. "I was going to meet up with some people I know from another game. I don't know what you're up to after this so if uh. . .you know if you want you can friend them and hang with us."

"Errr. . ." Kirito glanced at the ground subconsciously.

Sure he got along well with Klien, but that was no guarantee that it would be the same with his friends. There would be a higher chance of not getting along with them and as a result, fall out with Klein as well.

Seemingly understanding the reason for my not-so-confident answer, Klein shook his head waving a hand in front of him.

"Hey, it's cool if you don't want to. No pressure. I can always introduce you to them another time or something."

". . .yeah. Sorry. Thanks anyway."

As soon as Kirito thanked him, Klein shook his head vigorously.

"No way, I should be doing all the thanking. One of these days I'll pay you back for all your help. Virtually that is."

Klein smiled and took another look at the clock.

"Well, I'll log off for a bit. Thanks a lot, Kirito. Be seeing ya."

With that, he put his hand forward. At that moment, Kirito thought this person would have been a great leader in «another game» and shook his hand.

"If there is anything else you want to know, message me." Kirito offered as their hands split.

"Sweet, I'll do that."

Klein stepped back a bit and put his right index finger and thumb together and pulled downwards. This was the action that was done to call the «main menu window». Straight afterward, there was a ringing sound and a shining purple rectangle appeared.

Kirito moved away a bit and sat on a rock and opening his menu too. He started to move his fingers to organize the items that he'd gotten after fighting with the boar.

"Eh. . .where'd the log out button go?"

Looking over at his friend Kirito frowned.

"It should be there."

The swordsman opened his eyes wide beneath the bandana and pushed his head closer to the menu. The rectangle, which was longer sideways than high, had a bunch of buttons on the left and a silhouette showing what equipment you had on on the right. At the bottom of the menu, there was supposed to be a «LOG OUT» button that allowed you to escape from this world.

As Kirito was turning his head back to the item list that listed everything that he had gained over hours of fighting, Klein started speaking again.

"Hm. . .nope. It's not there."

"It should be at the bottom of the main menu." Kirto clicked on the button on the top left to go back to the menu screen. The inventory window on the right closed and it went back to the main screen. At the left of the silhouette, which still had quite a lot of empty spaces, there was a long row of buttons.

He moved his hand down in a movement that had almost become a habit and—

-His body froze.

There was no log out button.

As Klein had said, the button that had been there during the beta test—no, even right after he'd logged on—had disappeared. He stared at the empty space for a couple of seconds, then started looking through the menu, making sure that it hadn't just changed its position.

"See, not there."

"It's not."

Kirito nodded, although it felt slightly annoying to agree. Klein smiled and started rubbing his chin.

"Well, today's what? The first day out of beta? There's bound to be some bugs. I bet the server people are freaking out right now."

"You will too." Kirito teased pointing to the time displayed. "It's five twenty-five."

"Ah, oh my god! My teriyaki may pizza and ginger ale!"

Throwing away a couple of items he didn't need from his inventory, which had been getting to full with so many items inside, Kirito walked over to Klein who was freaking out.

"Why don't you just contact the Game Master?"

"Yeah, I did that. But nothing is happening. He's not picking up. Do you know if there is another way to log out of this thing?"

 _Let's see. . .to log out?_ To get out of this virtual reality and back to his room, he'd have to open the main menu, press the log out button and press yes on the window that popped up on the right. It was pretty simple. But—at the same time, apart from the procedure above Kirito wasn't aware of any other way of logging off.

Looking up at Klein's face, which was situated quite a bit higher than his own he shook his head.

"No. Whenever a player wants to log out of SAO, the only way they can do it is by going through the menu."

"That can't be right. There's got to be some other way out."

Klein suddenly starting shouting as if he was denying my statement.

"Return! Log out! Escape!"

But of course, nothing happened. There were no voice commands on SAO of that description.

After shouting this and that and even a little jumping around Kirito spoke stopping Klein from doing anything else.

"Klein, it's useless. Even the manual doesn't have anything on emergency access terminations."

"But…this is just stupid! Even if it's a bug, I can't even go back to my room and my body when I want to!" Klein shouted.

Kirito totally agreed with him.

What was happening to them was impossible. It was complete nonsense. But it was indisputably the truth. And there was nothing they could do.

"Wait, I know, I'll just pull the «Gear» off my head."

Watching Klein move his hands as if he was trying to take off an invisible hat Kirito shook his head.

"Don't bother. Once you're hooked in you can't move your body in the real world. The «Nerve Gear» intercepts all the commands you give from inside the game using an interface built. . ." Kirito tapped the base of his neck. ". . .the rig and reroutes them to move our avatars here."

"Seriously? So now what? We have to wait until someone gets around to fix the bug!"

Klein slowly closed his mouth and put his hands down as he realized that was exactly what they would have to do. Until that happened they were trapped, inside the game.

"That. . .or until someone in the real world comes along and takes the «Nerve Gear» off our head. That's it."

"But I live alone. You?"

"I got a mom and sister. And I'm pretty sure they will notice by dinner time. . ."

Klein suddenly lunged forward grabbing him by the shoulder, his eyes sparkling.

"What? H-How old is your sister?"

"She's into sports and hates games, so she's got nothing in common with people like us. . .!" Kirito kneed Klein in the crotch.

Jumping back Klein cupped his groin as he fell to the ground groaning in-

"Oh, right. Getting kicked in the balls doesn't hurt."

"Get serious. Don't you think this is weird?"

"Yeah, totally. But it's just a bug."

Kirito looked around at the world of Aincrad.

"This isn't just a bug. If we can't log out of this world. It's gonna cause some serious problems for the game. I wonder if the developers even know what's happening. Because they could just shut down the server and log everyone out. But…it's already been 15 minutes since we've noticed this, but there hasn't even been a system message, let alone putting the server down; it's just too weird."

Ding, ding, a chiming noise like a bell, or perhaps a warning bell, sounded loudly, making both players jump in surprise.

"Ah..."

"What's this!?"

Looking at each as they both shouted at the same time their eyes went wide.

Each of them was immersed in a clear blue pillar of light. Past the blue veil, the plains in their vision blurred steadily.

Klein didn't know what was happening, but Kirito who had experienced this a few times during beta testing knew what it was. It was a «Teleport» initiated by an item. Only he didn't have the prerequisite item, nor did he shout the proper command.  
 _Did the operators initiate a forced teleport? If so, why didn't they even inform us?_

As my thoughts raced, the light around him pulsed stronger and then there was only darkness.

When the blue light faded, the surroundings became clear again. However, this wasn't the plains lit with the sunset anymore.

They were standing on a large road paved with stone. Medieval streets surrounded by streetlamps and the huge palace radiating a dark light a fair distance away up ahead.

This was the starting point, the central plaza of the «Starting City».

Kirito looked at Cline who had his mouth wide open next to him. Then at the bustling layers of people that surrounded the two of them.

A bunch of stunningly beautiful people with a variety of equipment and different hair colors, they were no doubt, other players. There were about a few thousand—ten thousand people here. It was likely that everyone who was logged on right now had been forcefully transported to the central plaza.

For a few seconds, everyone just looked around without a word.

Then a few mumbles and mutters could be heard here and there; it started to get louder.

"What's happening?"

"Can we log out now?"

 _A forced_ _teleport._ The other beta players must have known what happened. But none of them were saying anything to calm the crowd. Not that I'm one to talk.

Kirito looked around as the comments about what was happening grew harsher as the players started to get more annoyed.

"Is this a joke?"

"Get the hell out here, GMs!"

Then suddenly.

Somebody shouted, louder than the rest.

"Ah. . .look above!"

Kirito and Klein almost automatically turned their eyes upward and looked.  
There, a strange sight greeted us.

The bottom surface of the second floor, one hundred meters up in the air, was checkered in red. Kirito could just make out the two phrases crisscrossing each other.

The word that was written in red was **[Warning]** and the other **[System Announcement]**.

 _Oh, the operator's going to begin informing us now._ Breathing a sigh Kirito let his shoulder relax.

Around him, the chatter died down as everyone in the plaza waited to hear what was going on.

However, what happened next wasn't what anyone had expected.

From the middle of the pattern, a liquid similar to blood started oozing down slowly. It came down at a rate that almost emphasized how viscid it was, but it didn't fall down; instead, it started morphing into another shape.

What appeared was a twenty-meter tall man with a hooded robe draped around him.

No, that wasn't exactly right. From where he was looking, Kirito could easily see into the hood—there was no face. It was absolutely empty. The inner cloth was clearly visible. and the green embroidery inside of the hood. It was the same inside the robe; all he could see inside the rim were shadows.

Kirito had seen the actual robe before. It was the outfit that the Agas employees who had been working as GMs during the beta test had always worn. But then the male GMs had had a face like an old sorcerer with a long beard and the females had had an avatar of a bespectacled girl. They might have used the robe due to lack of time to prepare a proper avatar, but the empty space beneath the hood gave him an unexplainable feeling of anxiety.

The countless players around him must have felt the same as they began murmuring.

"Is that a GM?"

"Why doesn't it have a face?"

Numerous whispers like these could be heard.

Then the right hand of the huge robe moved as if to silence them.

A pure white glove appeared from the folds of the long sleeve. But this sleeve, like the rest of the robe, wasn't connected to any sort of body.

Then the left arm slowly lifted upwards, too. Then with its two empty gloves spread out in front of ten thousand players, the faceless person opened his mouth—no, it felt like it did. Then a low and calm voice of a male resonated from high up in the air.

"Players, I welcome you all to my world!"

 _«My world»? What's he mean by that?_ If that red robe was a GM, it certainly had godlike powers in this world, enabling him to change the world at will, but why was he pointing that out now?

Kirito looked at Klein who was staring back at him just as dumbfounded. The anonymous red robe lowered its two arms and continued talking.

"My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world."

Gasping Kirito stared up at the avatar. _Kayaba Akihiko._

This person, who was both a game designer and a genius in the field of quantum physics, was the one responsible for raising Agas, which even a few years ago was just one of many small companies, into one of the leading companies in the field.

He was also the development director of SAO and, at the same time, the designer of the Nerve Gear.

As a hardcore gamer, Kirito respected Kayaba deeply. Buying all the magazines that featured him and had read every one of the few interviews Kayaba had done until he almost knew them all by heart. Even now, while staring at the giant red avatar he could almost see him in the white overalls he always wore by just hearing his voice.

 _But he had always stuck behind the curtain._ Kayaba was notorious for refusing to be exposed to the media; he had never even been a GM in the beta. _So why is he doing something like this?_

It didn't make sense for someone who stayed out of the spotlight to do something as grandiose as this.

"I think that by now most of you have discovered the fact that the log out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a defect in the game. I repeat. . .this is not a defect in the game, this is how «Sword Art Online»'s was designed to be."

"He's kidding. . .right?"

Klien muttered; his voice breaking up. The announcement continued as if to cover the sound.

"Until you get to the top of this castle, you cannot log out of your own free will. And no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the Nerve Gear from your head. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the Nerve Gear will emit powerful microwaves, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."

 _Destroy our brains? In other words, kill us._ Kirito's mind was refused to believe what had just been said. But Kayaba's short statement, there was nothing false about what he said the Nerve Gear could do.

Klein raised his right hand slowly and tried to grasp the headgear that would be situated there in the real world. As he did this, he let out a dry laugh and started talking.

"Haha. . .what's he saying? Are you listening to this crap? he' gotta be nuts, right? Right, Kirito?"

Klein stared at him hard, but Kirito couldn't nod in agreement like he knew his friend wanted him to.

"He's not. He' right that transmitter signals work just like microwaves. If the safety were disabled, it could fry your brains."

"Couldn't someone cut the power. . .or-"

Kirito shook his head.

"That won't work. Thirty percent of the gear's weight is in the battery."

"But. . .this is crazy! It's totally crazy!"

Kayaba started explaining as if he had heard what Klein had shouted.

"Unfortunately, there have been several instances where players' friends and families have ignored the warning, and attempted to forcefully remove the Nerve Gear. As a result, 213 players have been deleted permanently from both Aincrad and the real world."

 _Two hundred and thirteen._ Kirito stumbled back a few paces on weak knees but managed to keep himself from falling. Next, to him, Klein wasn't so lucky and fell on his backside.

213 players.

The number kept echoing in his mind as many in the crowd shouted up at Kayaba's avatar.

While he and Klein had been playing the game over two hundred people had died.

Among them, there might have even been some of his fellow beta testers. He might have even known some of their character names and avatars. Those people had had their brains burnt and. . .died.

"I. . .I don't believe it."

Klein, who was still sitting on the floor looked up at him.

"He's just trying to scare us, right?"

Inside, Kirito wanted to believe the same thing.

But as if to dismiss their hopes, Kayaba's avatar put his right index finger and thumb together and pulled downwards as his businesslike voice continued restarted the explanation.

"As of this moment, all TV, radio, and internet media are all repeatedly reporting this situation, including the fact that there have been numerous deaths. The danger of having your Nerve Gear taken off has already all but disappeared."

Proving his point to those watching windows appeared in the sky showing news channels reporting the deaths.

"In a moment, using the two hours I have given, all of you will be transported to hospitals or similar institutes and be given the best treatment. So you can relax. . .and concentrate on beating the game."

"What. . .?"

 _Beat the game? Is he crazy?_ Kirito glared up at the avatar. This wasn't a game anymore.

"It's important that you remember the following. There is no longer any function to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system forever. And the Nerve Gear will simultaneously destroy your brain."

Looking up at the top left corner of his vision, at the long horizontal line that was shining Kirito focused it, on the numbers 342/342 overlaid it.

His hit-points. His life.

"Players, there is only one way to be freed from this game. As I have said before, you must get to the top of Aincrad, the one-hundredth floor, and defeat the final boss that resides there. All players still alive at that time will be immediately logged out of the game. I give you all my word."

Ten thousand players stood in silence.

"We can't clear all hundred floors. That's freaking impossible." Klein stood up and shouted at the sky. "Even the beta-testers never made it that high!"

The red robe that had trapped them in this death game swept its right glove and started speaking with a voice void of all emotion.

"I will show you evidence that this is the only reality. In your inventories, there will be a gift from me. Please confirm this."

Kirito pressed his finger and thumb together and pulled downwards. All the players did likewise and the plaza was filled with the ringing sound of bells.

He selected the item button on the menu that had just appeared at the top of his belongings list.

«Hand mirror»

 _Why did he give us this?_ Even as he asked himself that question Kirito tapped the name and pressed the _"make into object"_ button. Immediately afterwards, there was a twinkling sound effect and a small rectangular mirror appeared.

Grabbing the mirror as it fell into his hands he looked at it but nothing happened. All that it showed was the face of the avatar that he had created for the game.

Suddenly Cline and the avatars around him were engulfed in white light. And then he was surrounded, and all he could see was white.

Almost 2, 3 seconds later, the surroundings reappeared just as they had been. . .

Except.

The face in the mirror didn't show Kirito's avatar anymore. His face. . .his real face was staring back at him.

Looking over at Klein he didn't recognize the man staring back at him. The armor made of metal plates sewn together, the bandana, and the spiky red hair were all the same. But the face had changed into another shape altogether. His long, sharp eyes had become sunken and shone brighter. His nose had become hooked, and a slight beard now appeared on his cheeks and chin. If the avatar had been a young samurai, this one was a bandit.

"Who are you?" He asked momentarily forgetting the situation.

The man in front of him echoed those same words back at him.

"Hey...who're you?"

"Ah. . .it's me. . ."

They both stared at each other and shouted at the same time.

"You're Cline!?" "You're Kirito!?"

 _Our voices!_ Kirito pressed a hand against his throat. They had changed too, perhaps the voice effectors had stopped working.

The mirror fell from his free hand and hit the ground, being destroyed with a quiet smashing sound.

Looking around he saw that the crowd was no longer filled with people who looked like characters from a fantasy game. A bunch of normal looking young people had now taken their place. It was like something you'd see if you gathered a bunch of people in real life at a game show venue and dressed them up in armor. Distressingly, even the sex ratio had changed greatly.

 _How on earth was this possible?_ The face he could accept. There are high-density signal sensors in the Nerve Gear that scanned their entire head as well as their face.

"B-But, how can it know how our bodies look like. . .like how tall we are?"

The answer came from Klein who snapped his fingers.

"Ah. . .wait. I bought the Nerve Gear just yesterday so I remember, but there was a part of the set-up. . .what was it called, calibration? Well anyway, during that bit it touched your body here and there, maybe it was that. . .?"

"Ah, right. . .that's what it was."

Calibration was where the Nerve Gear measured «how much you had to move your hand to reach your body». This was done to reproduce the sense of feel accurately within the game. So to say, it was almost as if the Nerve Gear had data about our exact figures saved inside itself.

It was possible, making all the avatars of the players an almost perfect polygon replica of themselves. The purpose of this was also almost too clear now.

". . .reality," Kirito muttered. "He said that this was reality. That this polygon avatar. . .and our HP was our real body and our real life. In order to make us believe this, he's produced a perfect copy of us. . ."

Klein scratched his head roughly and the eyes beneath his bandana shone as he shouted.

"Why? Why the hell's he doing something like this. . .?"

"I think he's about to tell us."

Kirito pointed to Kayaba's avatar.

"Right now your probably wondering why? Why am I—the creator of both the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko—doing something like this? My goal was a simple one. The reason I created «Sword Art Online», was to control the fate of a world of my design. As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch for «Sword Art Online». Players, I wish you the best of luck."

This last sentence trailed off with a faint echo.

The huge robe rose soundlessly and started sinking, hood first, into the system message that covered the sky, as if melting.

Its shoulders, then its chest, then its two arms and legs merged into in the red surface, and then a final red stain spread briefly. Right afterwards, the system message that had covered the sky disappeared as suddenly as it appeared

The game had returned to its normal state, apart from the fact that a couple of rules had been changed.

Silence reigned over the plaza for a brief moment, before thousands of players panicked.

"It's a joke right. . .?"

"What the hell is this? It's a joke right!?"

"Stop kidding around! Let me out! Let me out of here!"

"No! You can't! I've got to meet someone soon!"

"I don't like this! I'm gonna go home! I want to go home!"

The most anticipated game of the century had turned into a prison for all those lucky enough to get their hands on a copy.

In the midst of the chaos, Kirito grabbed Klein's arm and dragged him away through the crowd.

"C'mon, Klein! Over here."

Having been close to the edge of the plaza they made it out fairly quickly and Kirito ducked into the shadows behind a wooden cart hiding them from view as best he could.

"Klein. . ."

Klein still had a somewhat blank expression on his face like he wasn't listening but Kirito continued talking, trying his best to sound serious. But like his face, his voice was now his own and the voice of a fifteen-year-old boy wasn't what one would call inspiring.

"Listen to me. I'm going to get out of this city and head over to the next village. Come with me."

Klein opened his eyes wide under the bandana and Kirito kept talking in a low voice, forcing the words out.

"If what he said was true, in order to survive in this world we have to strengthen ourselves. You know that MMORPGs are a battle for resources between the players. Only the people who can acquire the most money and experience can get stronger... The people who've realized this are going to hunt all the monsters around the «Starting City». You'll have to wait forever for the monsters to respawn. Going to the next village right now would be better. I know the way and all the dangerous spots, so I can get there, even if I'm only level one."

Considering that it was him, that was quite a long speech. But despite that, Klein stayed silent and right as Kirito began to slowly panic that his only friend was brain dead and the only reason his avatar was still here was because of a glitch in the game Klein's face scrunched up.

"But. . .But y'know. I said before that I stood in line for ages with my friends to buy this game. They would have logged in and most likely they'd be in the plaza even now." Klein looked over his shoulder at the panicking masses still in the plaza. "I can't. . .go without them.

". . ."

Kirito let out a sigh and bit his lip.

He understood all too well what Klein was trying to tell him through his nervous gaze.

Klein. . .was bright and was easy to get along with, and he most probably took care of other people pretty well. The older player was most hoping that he would take all his friends with him.

But he just couldn't nod.

If it was just Klein, he could get to the next village while protecting them from aggressive monsters. But if there was even two more — no, even one more person coming along— it would be dangerous. If somebody died along the way, they'd die IRL as Kayaba had announced. The responsibility would undoubtedly fall on him, who suggested setting out from the safe «Starting City» and failed to protect his comrade. It was a burden too heavy to bear, he could never do that. It was just simply impossible.

Klein seemed to read all these worries that flashed through his mind. A smile appeared on his slightly bearded cheek and he shook his head.

"No. . .I can't keep relying on you. I was a guild master in the game I used to play. It'll be fine. I'll just make do with the techniques that you've taught me till now. And. . .there's still a chance that this was just a bad joke and that we'll all be logged off. So don't worry about us and go to the village."

Klein gave a thumbs up and a smile but it didn't reach his eyes.

Kirito opened his mouth but words wouldn't come out.

He was speechless.

Klein knew how good he was at SAO, how much he knew thanks to the two months he spent playing the beta. The chances of whoever his friends were surviving would skyrocket if he agreed to take them with and show teach them like he did Klein.

 _But he gave me an out._ And he should've taken it. Alone he would progress much faster. Without having to worry about any other than himself he could focus on leveling up, becoming strong enough to survive. That was what he should've done. He didn't have the social skills to lead a group of people.

And yet.

"Find your friends, meet me at the Northwest gate."

Klein's eyes widened and tried to open his mouth but Kirito shut him down.

"Hurry!"

Visibly flinching at the shout Klein recoiled but recovered quickly grinning as he turned around.

"Thank you, Kirito."

Kirito nodded and watched as the brownish haired play ran out of the alley they were hiding in and disappeared into the crowd.

 _What am I doing?_ He dropped his head into his hands when his friend was out of sight. Why did he say that? He was fifteen, he couldn't be responsible for the lives of other people.  
 _And I don't even know how many friends Klein has._

For all, he knew Klein could show up with a dozen other people all looking to him to keep them safe. How was he supposed to deal with that?

He should have said no. Taken the out Klein gave him.

 _But would it have made a difference?_ If he had left and stuck out on his own the death of Klein and his friends still would've been on his hands. They would have died because he didn't help and that made it his fault. Because he had a choice and decided not to help.

 _You have the power, it's your duty to help._ _With great power comes great responsibility._

Kirito groaned shaking his head. Great now his conscience was Uncle Ben.

 _But it's not wrong._ At least now if he failed and Klein's friends died, at least he could say that he tried. It wouldn't ease the guilt of failing but he would have those two words to cling on to if the time ever came.

* * *

 **My take on the SAO Aincrad Arc if Kirito had chosen not leave Klein and his friends in «Starting City».**


	2. Day 31

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Sword Art Online

* * *

"Klein, maybe we should head out. If we leave now we might be able to find some mobs before they're all gone."

"Dale,"

Klein sighed as he started to repeat the same sentence he had been telling his friends since he told them he knew a beta tester that would help them out.

"I already told you. Kirito told me to find you guys and meet him here. He's a beta tester so he knows more than we do about the game."

After finding them huddled together near the edge of the plaza he had explained what was going on, and who Kirito was and none of his friends had believed that he had been lucky enough to run into a beta tester and become friends with him before SAO became a game of survival instead of fun.

He had thought the short conversation they had while he led them towards where Kirito wanted to meet had convinced them. But most of them were voting to leave «Starting City» and strike out on their own.

"Maybe he just told you to meet him here to get rid of you. He could already be on his way to the next town."

Dynamm, the oldest of the friends said looking around at the others for support.

"I know he is your friend, Klein, but you said it yourself. He's just a kid. Maybe he decided he couldn't handle the responsibility and bolted."

Klein defended his newest friend.

"Kirito isn't like that. He said to meet him here and we'll wait until he shows up. And he will show up."

Turning away from his five friends so they couldn't see the frown on his face Klein looked out at the woods surrounding «Starting City».

 _Come on, Kirito. Where are you?_

His silent prayer was answered.

"Klein!"

 _Yes!_ Turning around Klein grinned and pumped his fist at his side when he saw the black haired teen jogging towards him and his friends.

"Sorry, I'm late. I had to sell the boar hides from earlier in town and with the crowds, it took a little longer than I expected."

Kirito spoke quickly and stiffly his eyes flickering between Klein and the five strangers.

He had never been good with people and he was sure it was showing. The awkwardness in the street must have been palpable. Or at least it was to him.

"Haha, no problem, Kirito."

Klein walked over to his new friend and slapped him on the back.

"Just glad you could make it."

Thumbing at his friends he stage-whispered loudly.

"These guys thought you ditched us."

"Oh," Kirito hung his head his bangs creating shadows hiding his eyes. He hadn't meant to take _that_ long.

"Sorry, I should have accounted for the crowd."

"Kirito, it was a joke. We don't mind that you took a little longer to get here. Do we guys?"

Klein looked at his friends who were staring at Kirito.

"Of course not."

Dale the largest of the friends smiled.

"Klein says you're the guy who's gonna keep us alive. What're a few minutes when compared to saving our asses? Right guys?"

The others all nodded their agreement and Klein let out a silent relieved breath.

"Okay, great. Now let's get to work."

Sliding his hand through the air Kirito opened his map and spun it so the others could see.

"I told Klein earlier, but I'll explain it again so we're all on the same page. If what Kayaba said is true, and I think it is, the only way to survive in this world is by making ourselves as strong as possible. The resources within an MMORPG, in other words, the money and EXP we can earn, are limited. The fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings will be hunted clean soon. To be efficient, we should set up base in the next village right now."

A dotted line made of yellow arrows followed Kirito's finger as he outlined the route they would be taking until it reached the large red dot pinpointing their destination.

"I know all the paths and dangerous areas. Even at level one, I should be able to get us all there safely."

"Should?"

Harry, Klein's youngest friend other than Kirito asked nervously, wringing his gloved hands together.

"So we still might die."

"No one is going to die!"

Klein announced his words strongly just as Kirito gave his own answer that was vastly different.

"Yes."

Smacking his forehead as his friends gasped Klein grabbed Kirito by the arm and pulled him away from the group.

"What the hell, Kirito?"

Frowning Kirito yanked his arm back with more force than was probably necessary as Klein took a step back.

"What, Klein?"

He asked confused. Didn't his friend understand that every second they stayed here was costing them resources?

"Why did you tell them they were going to die?"

Klein whispered as he smiled at his friends over Kirito's shoulder.

"You just freaked the hell out of the guys."

Kirito shook his head.

"I didn't say they were _going_ to die. I just said I couldn't _guarantee_ that they wouldn't. Because I can't. No one is safe until we beat this game."

" _I_ know that, _you_ know that, and _they_ know that. We all know that, Kirito."

Klein sighed rubbing his bandanna-covered forehead. Maybe he had underestimated just how socially awkward his new friend really was. Telling the people who he was protecting that he might not be able to keep them alive didn't inspire much faith.

"But saying it out loud isn't going to help team morale."

"So I should lie to them?"

Kirito was confused. That didn't sound like something a good leader would do.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. Just-"

Exhaling Klein drug a hand over his face.

"Never mind that for now. Let's get to the next town and I'll try and explain better once we're there."

"Okay. . ."

Kirito shrugged and turned around walking past Klein's friends and away from the Town of Beginnings.

Following his young friend, Klein smiled at the others who looked at him.

"Sorry 'bout that, guys. Just a few things we needed to get sorted out."

"What the hell, Klein!" Dynamm hissed.

"That kid just told us we're going to die and you still want us to follow him?"

"He didn't mean it like that. Kirito. . ." Klein tried to find the best way to explain what was up with his new friend.

"Kirito, he just isn't good with words. Once you get used to him you'll understand."

Ahead of the group unseen by Klein and his friends Kirito bit his lip and stared at the ground as he walked.

Not even ten minutes with the people he was trying to keep alive and they already didn't like him. That would make ordering them around harder if they didn't believe he knew what he was doing. And that hesitation to follow his commands could get one of them killed.

 _And it would be my fault._ Kirito sighed as he continued walking ignoring the whispers behind him.

Dammit, he should have played solo. Really, what was he thinking trying to lead a group of people? He didn't even have friends IRL. How was he supposed to go from loner to leader quick enough to keep everyone alive?

 _I'll have to figure it out._

Looking over his shoulder at the group that would no doubt become his guild when the ability to form them was unlocked he ignored the awkward silence as their whispers trailed off.

"We should start running. If we pace ourselves we'll get to the next town faster."

"Kirito,"

Klein raised a finger and pointed behind him.

"Wolf."

"Huh?"

Turning around Kirito's lips twitched as he saw it.

A few meters ahead of them, standing in the centre of the road was a grey wolf with white fur covering its chest.

 _This is good._ If he showed Klein's friends how to fight like he did Klein that would prove to them that he knew what he was doing. And the level 2 wolves between «Starting City» and «Tolbana» Town.

"Alright, everyone, draw your weapons."

Leading by example Kirito drew the sword from his back as Klein and his friends did the same behind him.

"As a game without magic, SAO's fighting relies mostly on Sword Skills. Sword Skills are activated when a player performs the appropriate «Pre-Motion».Everyone follow my lead. Make sure to stay paced apart so you don't accidentally hit each other.

Running towards the wolf as the monster did the same Kirito lifted his sword. As soon as the system detected the first motion of a sword skill, the blade started giving off a slight blue light.

"If you start the right motion, the system will put your sword skill into motion and hit the target for you."

Kirito's arm moved almost by itself and The «Horizontal», a basic skill of the one-handed sword, struck the wolf right in its neck slicing down its entire body as Kirito ran past it.

Around him, Klein and his friend's swords lit up like the rainbow as they followed his movement slashing through the air.

Only he hit a target though.

The «Dire Wolf» gave a pained bark and its large body shattered like glass and blue numbers appeared, showing how much virtual experience points he had gained for the kill.

"If we stay close to the main road «Dire Wolves» and «Frenzy Boar» will be the most abundant monster. It will give you guys some practice using the Sword Skills."

Further down the road, as if to prove his point two more Wolves spawned into the game.

"Harry,"

Kirito looked at the closest person to his age in the group.

"You and I will take the one on the right. Klein, you and Dale take the one on the left. Until all of you get used to using the Skills this is how we will fight. Don't ever engage a monster alone. I want Klein or myself nearby in case something goes wrong."

* * *

o0o

One month into the game, two thousand people were dead.

The hope that outside help would come had been crushed; not even a message had gotten through.

He had left the plaza before it happened, but people said that the panic and the madness that took hold of the players when they realized that they really couldn't get back was unbelievable. There were people crying and others wailing, and some even tried to dig up the ground of the city saying that they were going to destroy this world. Of course, all buildings were non-destructible objects, so this attempt failed without any results to show for it.

They say that it took days for the players to accept the situation and think of what to do afterwards.

All of the players had been split into four big groups.

The first consisted of a little over half of the players; they were the ones who still wouldn't accept the conditions that Kayaba Akihiko had put forth and still waited for outside help.

Kirito could understand what they were thinking. Their real bodies would be lying on a bed or sitting on a chair fast asleep. That was reality and this situation was the «fake», if there was even the smallest discovery they might be able to get out—of course, the log out button was gone but there might be something that the creators of the game might have overlooked—. And outside, the company who ran the game, Agas, would be trying harder than anyone to save the players—if they could just wait, they might be able to open their eyes, have a teary reunion with their family and then return to school or work and this would all have been just something to talk about.

It wasn't unreasonable for people to think like that. The thought still crossed his mind a time or two a day.

Their plan of action was to «wait». They didn't take even a single step out of the city and used the money they had been allotted at the beginning of the game—the currency was called «Col» in this world—sparingly, buying only the food they needed to get through the day and finding cheap inns to sleep in, and walked around in groups spending each day without any thought.

Thankfully the «Starting City» was a city that took up twenty percent of the first floor's surface and was large enough to fit a Tokyo district. So the five thousand players would have had sufficient room to live in.

But no help was forthcoming however long they waited. On some days, the sky outside was not a crystal blue but covered with grey clouds. Their money couldn't last forever and they realized that they would have to do something.

The second group consisted of about thirty percent, or three thousand players. It was a group where all the players in it worked together. The leader of it was the admin of the largest online game info site.

The players who had gathered under this group were split into several groups and shared all of their gains, collected information on the game and set out to explore the labyrinth area where the stairs were. The leaders of this group set the «Black Iron Castle» up as their base of operations and sent orders to their various groups.

This huge group didn't have a name for quite a while, but after all the members received a uniform, somebody gave them the, somewhat grim, name «The Army».

The third group was made of, at an estimate, a thousand players. It consisted of people who had wasted all their Col but didn't want to make money by fighting monsters.

Without Col, they wouldn't be able to buy food or pay the price to sleep in an inn. They wouldn't starve, as hospitals IRL were sure to have everyone hooked up to IV drops keeping them alive while they were stuck in the game. But the constant hunger would be painful to endure. And without sleep. . .Kirito didn't know what would happen when the player's brains shut down.

But there are always those who can never cooperate with others however hard they try. The ones who never wanted to join, or got kicked out for causing trouble, set the slums of the «Starting City» as their base and started thieving.

Inside the city or the places mostly referred to as «Safe Areas» were protected by the system and players couldn't hurt each other. But it wasn't like that outside. The stragglers made teams with other stragglers and ambushed other players—which was in many ways much more profitable than hunting monsters—out on the fields or the labyrinth areas.

Even then, nobody was ever «murdered».

This group got slowly larger until they reached the aforementioned number of a thousand.

The final, fourth group was, simply said, the rest.

There were fifty organizations made by the people who wanted to clear the game but didn't join the huge organization. Their number was about five hundred. We called these groups «Guilds» and they had a mobility that «The Army» lacked; and using that, they steadily grew stronger.

Then there were the very few who chose the merchant and craftsman classes. They numbered only about two, three hundred, but they created guilds of their own and started training the skills that they would need to earn the Coll they need to get by.

The rest, around one hundred players, were called «Solo Players».

"Kirito!"

Turning around Kirito waved at Klein who was walking towards him.

"Klein, everything go, okay?'

Klein gave a thumbs up and smiled. Because they were in a game, and their bodies were made up of polygons Klein's hair and beard had remained the same. As did his face.

The only thing that changed about any of them was their clothes.

No longer dressed in the standard chest armour that was given to all players when they start the game, Kirito's second in command was now wearing a red and blue kimono under a stronger chest plate. Gauntlets adorned his forearms and shin guards attached to armoured boots protected his legs covering the white pants he wore.

A stark contrast to the black shirt, pants, boots, and jacket Kirito was wearing.

"Yeah, but I still don't see why we couldn't party with that Coop. He seemed a nice enough, guy."

Klein sat down at the table where the rest of the future _'Fuurinkazan'_ guild as Klein had dubbed them were waiting for him. They had been arguing over Kirito's choice on not partying with Coop, as they called him.

The beta-tester they had met earlier that day.

"What's the big deal about partying with the guy?"

Klein asked as he sipped on the complimentary water the Inn gave out to its guest.

He would have liked ale or anything with flavour, but Kirito had been right when he said to save their money until the entire group was outfitted with stronger armour and better weapons.

 _Could have phrased it better though._ Klein shook his head as he remembered Kirito's response when questioned as to why they couldn't buy real food.

 _The food here is fake. Data that was programmed into the game. You guys are really willing to die for ones and zeros?_ That little speech hadn't done Kirito any favors with the others but Klein wasn't worried about them not getting along anymore. The guys could bitch about Kirito's lack of tack all they wanted. He had seen the dynamic shift within the group.

Ever since Kirito saved Dale from that wolf after they first left the Town of Beginnings his friends had warmed to the teen.

"Coper, can't be trusted, Klein."

Kirito answered as he searched through his inventory.

"He wouldn't even tell us he was a beta-tester."

"How do you know he's a beta-tester?"

It was Dale that asked the question that everyone else was thinking.

Closing down his inventory Kirito stood up from the table.

"The only people who could have made it this far into the game after only three days are the beta's and maybe some hardcore gamers who know what they're doing. I could have written him off as a good player if he wasn't also trying to complete the quest to get the _Anneal Blade_. No way does anyone who didn't play the beta know about the quest so soon."

"Where are you going tonight?"

Klein was quick to ask before Kirito could sneak away. He had let it go the first and second nights but three nights of hunting monsters alone? That was a little much even for a player as good as Kirito.

"The nineteenth floor of the Labyrinth. The «Ruin Kobold Troopers» spawn back the fastest."

"You want someone to go with you? Getting lost in the labyrinth alone is a death sentence."

Waving Klein's worries away with his hand Kirito smiled as he left the table.

"I'll be fine on my own, Klein. I can get more done solo than I do with a group."

"What a dick."

Kunimittz muttered as the bell above the door rung and Kirito walked out of the inn.

"Why doesn't he come out and just say it. He thinks we suck."

"That's not true."

Klein was defending Kirito again as his other friends all agreed with Kunimittz.

"I told you guys the other day he just doesn't realize how what he says can come off as rude."

Snorting Dynamm finished his water and slammed the cup down.

"How can he not? He literally just said we slow him down? That he was better playing solo than in a party. So why doesn't he?"

"Because I asked him to."

Klein was starting to get irritated at the flak his friends were giving Kirito. The kid hadn't needed to help him when he chased him down in «Starting City». Kirito could have told him to get lost and figure the game out himself.

But he didn't. Instead, he showed him the ropes. And when everything went to shit he had agreed to help complete strangers survive.

"I get he can be a little rough around the edges. But he's here, helping us, isn't he?"

No one had anything to say to that and the table fell silent.

* * *

o0o

 _He's going to get himself killed._ Kirito sighed as the thought ran through his mind.

Caring about the fate of other players, besides Klein and his friends was. . .new. When Kayaba first announced that SAO had become a death game he had figured that surviving and levelling up was how he could help not only himself but others as well. He would be strong enough to live and with that strength, he could help beat the game and free the other players.

Had even been willing to drag Klein along with him. But then he had to go and agree to help Klein's other friends as well.

Now, here he was. In the middle of a dungeon and about to risk his life to save some noob who had probably never played an MMO game in his life.

The level 6 humanoid monster, «Ruin Kobold Trooper», was swinging a barbaric hand ax, and the person fighting the Kobold was barely able to dodge. Kirito felt a chill run down his back as he watched the battle. But after the player dodged three consecutive strikes, the Kobold completely lost its balance and, without missing that chance, the person used a sword skill at full strength

It was the first skill that could be learned in the rapier category: the single thrust attack «Linear». It was a simple basic skill that consisted of thrusting straight forward by first holding the sword in front of the body and then putting in a twist from there, but the speed was terrifying. Clearly, the speed hadn't been left to the system motion assist alone but was boosted by the player's own movement commands.

During the beta test, he had seen with his own eyes numerous party members and enemy monsters use this very sword skill countless times. But this time was the only time he could not see the rapier itself, only the trajectory drawn by the light effect that was characteristic of sword skills. That pure white flash, as it pierced through the darkness of the dimly-lit dungeon.

The rapier user continued to dodge the Kobold's three strike combo, following with a counterattack using «Linear». After using this attack-defend pattern three more times, the player finished off the armed beast-man, one of this Labyrinth's stronger monsters, without a single wound. Despite this, the battle didn't seem to have been an easy one. Once the lethal sword skill had pierced the centre of its chest and the monster dispersed into particles as it collapsed backwards, the rapier user then staggered as if pushed by the insubstantial polygon shards and leaned back onto the corridor wall. The person slowly slid against the wall down to a sitting position, and began breathing heavily.

The person didn't seem to notice me standing about 15 meters away at the corner of the intersection.

If he hadn't met Klein and the other he would have wordlessly distanced himself from the player and found his own prey. Ever since that day, even though it was just a week ago he had been acting differently. Forced to change, to grow, as more responsibility than he had ever had was heaped on his shoulder.

Klein and the others had kept him from selfishly playing the game as a Solo-player.

So. . .

After a few seconds of internal debate, he strode toward the still-sitting Rapier users, even though their HP gauge was still close to full.

A skinny figure, somewhat slender. The torso was equipped with a dark red leather tunic with a lightweight copper breastplate, while the lower body was dressed in neat leather pants, with boots up to the knees. A hooded cape cloaked the body from head to below the waist, so the face could not be seen. Other than the cape, the equipment seemed to be that of a fencer.

Anneal Blade», the reward from a high-difficulty quest, was very heavy. So, to keep my skills on point, he wore very little metal armor—just a small chest guard with a dark-grey leather coat over it.

Noticing his approaching footsteps, the rapier user's shoulders trembled suddenly but didn't move any further. He had his face buried deep behind raised knees, giving a strong 'Just pass by and move on' impression.

But-

Kirito stopped about two meters away.

"That was an extreme overkill just now."

The small shoulders covered by the thick cloth of the cape moved slightly again. The hood jerked, moved up about 5cm, and from the darkness within, two pupils sharply shot towards him.

The only thing he could discern were light brown irises. The features of the face couldn't be seen at all.

For a few seconds, the rapier user continued to watch him with that same sharp gaze he used in the battle earlier, but eventually, his head tilted slightly to the right in an _'I don't get it'_ kind of gesture.

Seeing that confirmed Kirito's suspicion.

All gamers knew about overkill.

The skill was perfect, but the pace of battle was too risky. Certainly, «Minimal Side Step Defense» has a higher counterattack speed over parrying or blocking, and won't decrease weapon/ armour durability. However in exchange, when the defense fails, the danger is the greatest. At worst, counter damage may be applied and a stun could occur. In solo battles, a stun is fatal.

Gamers knew that. And if they had been in any other came he wouldn't have questioned the risky tactic. But «Sword Art Online» wasn't just a game anymore. Every fight was a fight for your life.

"Overkill means…in comparison to the monster's remaining HP, the damage dealt was way too much. The Kobold earlier was almost dead after the second «Linear». . .no, it was practically dead already. Its HP gauge had only two or three dots remaining. Instead of finishing it with a sword skill, a light normal attack would have been more than enough."

His speech skills had gotten better while travelling with his group and being forced to speak a lot since he was the teacher.

Even after listening to his speech, the fruit of his hard work, the rapier user had no reaction for over ten seconds. Just when he thought it was a lost cause a small voice slipped through the lowered hood.

". . .Overkill, is there any problem with it?"

At that moment, Kirito realized albeit belatedly that the rapier user huddled in front of him was one of this world's extraordinarily rare— especially in the depths of a dungeon like this—«Female Players».

After Akihiko Kayaba had forced all avatars to be the same gender as their real-world players, females were very rare. Even after a month, he was pretty sure most of them still stayed in «Starting City». There had only been one or two instances when he saw a female player outside the city and every time they were all members of big parties.

That was why he hadn't expected the solo rapier user to be female.

For a moment, he thought about mumbling an apology and leaving the area. It wasn't because he found fault with the kind of male players that always spoke out to any female player they saw; he just sincerely didn't like to be thought of that way.

However, the rapier user's curt reply had been a question. And again, thanks to Klein he was a slightly better people person than he was when the game started. So he moved closer and slid down the wall so he was sitting next to her.

"Overkill has no penalty or demerit from the system, but…it's bad for efficiency. Sword skills require concentration, so using them continuously is mentally exhausting. There's also the return path, so it's better to not fight in a way that makes you tired."

". . .Return path?"

The questioning voice that emanated from deep inside the hood was beautiful. But that wasn't something Kirito was going to say out loud.

Instead, he explained what he meant.

"Yes. It takes about an hour to get from here to the Labyrinth exit, and from there to the closest town is about 30 minutes even when moving quickly, right? Exhaustion increases mistakes. You look like a solo player, and for a single person, any small mistake might cost you your life."

Kirito didn't know why he was still talking. It wasn't because the player was female. He wasn't trying to 'act' cool to impress her. Really, he blamed Klein.

". . .Then, there's no problem. I'm not returning."

"What?. . .N-Not returning to town? But. . .replenishing potions, repairing equipment. . .and sleep. . ."

Kirito asked dumbfoundedly. The rapier user's shoulders shook slightly.

"I don't need medicine when I'm not taking damage, and I bought five of the same sword. As for resting, I use the nearby safe area."

As the murmured answer faded, Kirito was speechless.

Safe areas were certain rooms in a dungeon that monsters would not enter. A safe area could be recognized by a special coloured torch placed on the wall in each of its four corners. While hunting and mapping, it's a nice place; but, even so, it could only be used for maybe an hour of short rest. The floor was made of cold stone and of course, there was no bed, and the footsteps or growls of nearby monsters could be heard frequently. No matter how courageous a player was, deep sleep was absolutely impossible.

But, based on what he had just heard, this rapier user had been using a safe area in lieu of a town inn and has continued secluding herself in the Labyrinth,

"How long have you been here?"

The rapier user answered after taking a long breath. "Three days…or four days…Is that all? The monsters around here will revive soon, so I'll be going."

With her delicate left hand wrapped in a thick leather glove, she pushed off the wall and stood up unsteadily.

Her still-unsheathed slender sword drooped down heavily as if she were holding a two-handed sword one-handedly, and the rapier user turned her back to him.

Her cape was in tatters all over, revealing that much of its durability had been lost. No, for cloth equipment that had been used for a four-day hunting expedition, the mere fact that it had maintained its shape was a miracle. The earlier 'As long as I don't take damage' comment might not have been an exaggeration.

"If you fight like that you're going to die."

He said the unthinkable words. No one, even party members didn't mention dying to each other if they could help it. And reminding strangers that their lives were at risk every day was near the top of the list of things you don't do. But he had to say it.

Because he didn't see a skinny female player walking away from him. He saw Dale or Harry being stupid again and on instinct called out. Now it was out there though and he couldn't take it back.

Not that he wanted.

Suddenly stopping, the rapier user leaned her shoulder on the right wall and turned around slowly.

"Everyone is going to die anyway."

Kirito frowned at the cold words.

"In just one month, 2000 people have died, and still not even the first floor has been cleared yet. It isn't possible to clear this game. Where and how you die, and whether it's sooner…or later, is the only difference. . ."

Pushing himself up from the wall he Kirito stepped forward. To do what? He didn't know. But again, thanks to Klein and his friends he had dealt with players who thought they were going to die. It was only during the first couple of days, and then again after Dale almost died.

Before he could say anything the rapier user was struck by an invisible paralyzing attack and slowly sank to the floor.

 _Crap._ Drawing the sword from his back he rushed forward as more «Ruin Kobold Troopers» spawned around them.

* * *

o0o

As she was falling to the dungeon floor, a prosaic thought drifted through her mind. _"How is it possible to faint in a virtual space?"_

Loss of consciousness meant the brain's normal blood flow was momentarily delayed, and its functions stopped. The reason for this ischemia could be a malfunction in the heart or blood vessels, anaemia or low blood pressure, hyperventilation or many other reasons; but while FullDiving in a VR world, the physical body is resting on a bed or reclining chair. Furthermore, the physical bodies of the players imprisoned by this death game «SAO» were probably currently placed in a hospital; their health would obviously be checked and continuously monitored, and if necessary, even medicine would be used. It's hard to believe that loss of consciousness would be due to some physical abnormality.

After she thought that far within her fading consciousness, at the end she thought, "That kind of thing doesn't matter."

Yes. . .nothing mattered to her anymore.

Because she will die here. Fainting in a dungeon full of violent monsters, there was no way she would be unharmed. There was another player nearby, but she did not think he would go so far as to endanger his life to help another who had fallen.

Anyway, how could he help? In this world, the maximum weight a single player can carry is strictly limited by the system. In the depths of a dungeon, everyone carries medicine and extra equipment to their weight limit, leaving space for monster drops such as gold and items. With all those combined, the act of carrying a whole person is absolutely impossible.

Upon thinking to this point, she finally realized something.

The hard stone floor of the dungeon was what should have been under her body, but somehow, the feeling against her back was curiously soft and fluffy. Her body felt warm and a lightweight was covering her chest.

She opened her eyes looking around.

She was no longer in a dungeon lined by thick walls. She was on a bed, in a room that was nicer than anything she had been in since she had been trapped in the game.

But—why? How had she, who had fallen in the depths of the dungeon, been moved to this far away field?

The answer to that question was found when she turned her view 90 degrees to the right.

On the other side of the room, there was a grey silhouette sitting in a recliner. He held a somewhat large one-handed laid sword across his lap. Long black hair covered his face so that it couldn't be seen, but judging from his equipment and physique, there was no mistaking that he was the male player who had spoken with her before she fainted in the dungeon.

Most likely, that man had used some kind of method to move her out of the dungeon to this forest after she had fallen.

Sensing her movement, the man's dark-grey leather coat covered shoulders shook and he lifted his head slightly.

From between her grinding teeth, Asuna—Yuuki Asuna, forced out a low, hoarse voice.

"Unnecessary…effort."

"If you want to die, go back to the Town of Beginnings and jump off the edge."

Kirito stood up from his chair and walked towards the bed.

Maybe his words were harsh. And he was sure if Klein was here he would have had something to say about it. But it was just him and the rapier user.

"If you secluded yourself near the front lines for as long as four days, you should have mapped a considerable amount of unexplored areas. It would be a bit wasteful if it disappeared along with you. Instead of taking that information to a broker to be spread around you decided that the other players stuck here weren't worth helping."

Asuna glared at the _boy_ speaking. Yes, boy. Now that he had stepped into the light she could see how young he was. Younger than her.

"That's-"

Everyone is going to die anyway."

Kirito repeated the words spoken in the dungeon.

 _The importance of life' and 'How everyone should team up and work together._ Asuna had heard it all before. Up until now, when people in the city had told her such things she had immediately cut them down—with words only, of course—and she thought of doing that now, but couldn't come up with any reasonable responses.

"Then just take it."

With a low mutter, she sat up on the bed and opened her main window. Navigating through the tabs with a hand motion that she had finally gotten accustomed to recently, she accessed her map data and copied it all to a parchment item. She turned it into an object and took it out as a small scroll, and then tossed it near the boy's feet.

Pushing on the mattress with her hand, she stood up but wobbled slightly. Judging from the window's time display, she calculated that she had slept for seven hours since she fell, but it seemed that she had not fully recovered from her exhaustion yet. However, she still had three spare rapiers left. She had decided earlier that she would not leave the tower until the last rapier had only half its durability.

She had many unanswered questions. Through what kind of means had the grey-coated one-handed sword user moved her from the depths of the dungeon to the forest clearing? Even accepting that he had moved her, why had he especially gone to the trouble of moving her outside, instead of a safe area in the dungeon?

Even so, she didn't think it was something that she needed to turn around and ask. Therefore, in order to return to the dungeon, Asuna took a step toward the door.—But, that was as far as she got.

The door shot open and from the hallway outside two other players stormed in.

In real life, she would have panicked. However, in the game, she knew she was safe. Towns, villages and cities were safe zones. Places where players couldn't be killed outside a duel.

So Asuna ignored the new arrivals and took a few steps forward, but the conversation between them made her feet stop.

"Who's that, Kirito?"

Rubbing a hand down his face Kirito motioned to the hooded player as he spoke to Klein.

"I met them in the Tower last night. She was trying to die and now I'm trying to get her to see that dying in a dungeon is a waste."

Asuna turned around opening her mouth to berate this, Kirito. He had no business telling random people about her.

"We are all basically working hard to clear the game. You are too, right? Then, wouldn't it be better if you show your face at the «meeting»?"

". . .Meeting?"

Kirito nodded.

"This afternoon, in the town of «Tolbana» that is the closest to the dungeon, the first «First Floor Boss strategy conference» is supposed to be held. The meeting is supposed to take place in the town centre, at 4 PM in the afternoon. You should come."

With his piece said Kirito set a hand on Klein's shoulder and led his friend out of the room. He didn't want the samurai learning that the hooded player was, in fact, a girl.

 _That'd send her running for the dungeons._

* * *

 **Chapter 2 up!**


	3. The Meeting

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Sword Art Online

* * *

Since the floating castle Aincrad had a tapering structure, of course, the first floor on the lowest level was the widest. The first floor was almost perfectly circular, with a diameter of 10 kilometers, and an area of about 80 square kilometers. To use a reference for comparison, Kawagoe City in Saitama prefecture has an area of 110 square kilometers and a population of over 300,000 people.

For its huge size, the first floor actually held a lot of geographic variety.

On the southern edge was the «Starting City», surrounded by a rampart that drew a semi-circle around it with a diameter of 1 kilometer. In the grasslands surrounding the city, mainly boar and wolf-type animals were prevalent with worm, beetle, and wasp-type insect monsters also inhabiting the area.

Northwest of the grassland was a deep wide forest, and towards the northeast, there was a lake region. After passing through either of the two there were mountains, valleys, and ruins that contained monsters waiting to ambush passing players, and on the far northern-most edge of the floor, there stood a 300-meter wide, 100-meter tall squat tower—the First Floor Labyrinth.

In many places on the first floor, there existed many small- and medium-sized towns and villages other than the Starting City, but the largest of them—though even then, it was only about 200 meters from edge to edge—was the town situated in the valley closest to the Labyrinth: «Tolbana».

The first time players arrived at this town lined with huge windmills was three weeks after the official service of SAO began.

At that point, the total number of deaths had already reached 1800.

"Kirito?"

Looking up as Klein's voice pulled him from his thoughts Kirito tilted his head at the unusual seriousness in his friend's voice.

"Yeah, Klein?"

"Why'd you help that guy back there?"

Stopping the middle of the street Kirito glanced at the plaza on the other side. That was where the meeting would be taking place. Meaning there was bound to be players gathered inside.

 _I don't want anyone overhearing._

In a game where everyone's lives were at risk, you could only rely on certain people. Because just like IRL a stranger will let you die if it means saving their own skin.

Any information could be used against you.

"I'll tell you after the meeting."

He told his friend starting towards the plaza again.

As they came to the plaza Klein spoke before he could.

"What the hell?"

 _44 people._

That was the total number of players gathered at Tolbana's fountain plaza.

In SAO, the maximum size of a party was 6 people, and by adding together 8 of those you could make a raiding party with a total of 48 people. From Kirito's experience during the Beta-Test period, if they were going to try beating the Floor Boss with zero deaths, it would be difficult without at least two raid groups to switch between while fighting. The number of players in the plaza couldn't even form one raid party. Let alone two.

". . .This many. . ."

Kirito looked at the faces of the warriors gathered in groups of threes and fives around the plaza.

There were five or six players here whose names he knew, and vice versa. He was sure Klein knew more, with him being the more outgoing of the two. Additionally, there were around fifteen people who he had seen previously at the towns near the front line and in the Labyrinth. The remaining 20-plus people, he had never seen before.

And of course, the male-to-female ratio was extremely skewed. The only female player that he could see was the rapier user, but that couldn't be discerned just by looking because of the hood she wore low over their eyes, so the other people here besides him would be thinking that everyone here was male.

"We had hoped there would be more."

Klein's voice was quiet. A whisper at best. And a disappointed one at that.

Kirito understood the feeling. Seeing such a small number of people turn up for the meeting when there was still eight thousand people trapped in the game was a total let down.

But he couldn't be mad, or angry about it.

After all, he hadn't been going to risk his life for strangers either. If it wasn't for Klein he would have left everyone behind in «Starting City»

"O—K!"

A shouting voice that carried well flowed throughout the plaza.

"Now then, it's five minutes late, but let's start! Everyone, a bit more to the front…there, come three steps closer!"

The owner of the truly majestic voice that spoke was a swordsman with shiny metallic armor covering his entire tall figure. He nimbly jumped without a running-start onto the edge of the fountain that stood in the center of the plaza. To have jumped that high with that much armor, he must have possessed very high Strength and Dexterity.

When they saw the back-turned swordsman, several of the forty-odd people present rustled and murmured slightly. Most of the words centered around how the man standing on the edge of the fountain was so handsome. Two players were even in a hushed argument about whether or not he was an NPC created by the VRMMO.

His long hair flowing down in waves on either side of his face was dyed a brilliant blue. Since hair-dying items were not sold in shops on the first floor, he must have hunted for or bought a rare monster drop.

 _If he went to all that trouble to customize his hairstyle and color he must feel some reluctance standing up there in front of us._

There was only one female player in the crowd and no one but him knew she was there. It wasn't unreasonable to believe that the blue-haired swordsman felt weird standing all dressed up in front of a group of guys. But the man bore a refreshing smile that completely deflected his suspicions so Kirito let it go.

"Today, thank you for heeding my summons! Some people here know me, but I will again introduce myself! I am «Diavel», and in this game the job I rolled is. . .Knight!"

With that, the people around the fountain burst out with whistles and laughter.

"Dude, there is no job system in this game!"

Kirito rolled his eyes at that. What was the point of stating the obvious? If Diavel didn't know by know that there wasn't a job system in SAO he wouldn't be alive to be opening this meeting.

In SAO, «classes» prescribed by the system did not exist. Each player was given a number of «Skill Slots», and could freely select and set up all kinds of skills and train them. For example, people with manufacturing-type or trade-type skills as their main skills could be called a «Blacksmith», «Seamstress», «Cook», or other such official job titles—however, he only had limited knowledge about the game so maybe «Knight» and «Hero» classes, existed despite him not having not heard of them before.

Of course, _'calling oneself by whatever title they want'_ was every individual's freedom of choice. Looking at him closely, the man named Diavel was wearing bronze armor on his chest, shoulders, arms, and shins, with a large long-sword on his left hip, and a kite shield on his back. You could say that was this was the so-called Knight-class armament.

Kirito was sure that Diavel had dubbed himself a knight. He wasn't focused on that though.

 _Diavel?_

The name sounded familiar to him. His equipment and hairstyle were different, so it was hard to connect, but he felt like he had seen him many times in the front line villages and towns.

Maybe in the «Other Aincrad»? Perhaps that was where he knew him from.

"Now then, as for the reason why I gathered you, the top players who are active at the front lines like this, I don't think I need to say it, but. . ."

As Diavel's speech continued, Kirito shook his head and focused on him. The blue-haired knight raised his right hand, pointed to the huge tower that rose faintly beyond the town. The First Floor Labyrinth, and continued.

". . .A few days ago, a scouting party found the stairs leading to the top-most floor of that tower. In other words, tomorrow, or at the latest the day after tomorrow, we will reach it. . .the first floor's, Boss Room!"

The players rustled and became noisy among each other. The First Floor Labyrinth had 20 floors; Asuna had been close to rising from the 18th to 19th floor when we passed through the Labyrinth yesterday. Most of the other players in the game had reached that far as well. Ignorant to the fact that the 19th floor was already mapped that far and they could find maps detailing the Labyrinth in any store.

"One month. Coming this far took one month. . .but even so, we have to set an example. We have to beat the boss, reach the second floor, and show everyone still waiting at the Starting City that it is definitely possible to clear this death game. That is the duty of us top players here right now! Isn't that right, everyone!"

Again, cheers. This time, it seemed that there were people clapping who were not Diavel's friends.

"He's got their attention. Are you ready, Kirito?"

Klein asked as Diavel turned his attention to them.

"Now, I will turn the meeting over to Kirito. The leader of the party that discovered the First boss floor, and organized this meeting."

"Wait a minute, Knight-han."

A low voice flowed out of the crowd.

The cheering immediately stopped, and the front of the crowd split into two. Standing at the center of the newly opened gap was a short yet solidly built man.

From his position, Kirito could only make out a rather large one-handed sword on his back, and some kind of pointed, cactus-styled brown hair.

Taking one step forward, the cactus head growled in a deep, gravelly voice that was the opposite of Diavel's charismatic voice.

"Before that, there is one thing that I have to say, or otherwise I cannot join you."

Despite this rude intrusion, Diavel's expression nearly didn't change. With a smile overflowing with composure, he said while beckoning.

"What is it that you need to say? Well, whatever it is, opinions are very welcome. But, if you are going to speak, you should tell us your name first."

Cactus head gave a huge snort, and then took one, two steps forward. When he reached the fountain, he turned around to face us.

"I am «Kibaou»."

The cactus head swordsman who introduced himself with a somewhat daring character name glared at all the players in the plaza with beady but sharp and bright eyes.

After taking plenty of time to look at everyone once, Kibaou eventually said in an even more threatening voice.

"In this group, there should be about 5 or 10 people that need to apologize."

"Apologize? To whom?"

The «knight» Diavel, who was still standing behind him on the fountain's edge in the back, raised both hands in a questioning manner. Without looking at him, Kibaou spat out in hatred.

"Ha, isn't it obvious. To the 2000 people who died up until now. Those guys had a monopoly on everything, and so 2000 people died in one month! Isn't that right?!"

At that moment, the audience of forty-odd people that had been murmuring in low voices became completely silent. What Kibaou was insinuating, everyone finally understood. Kirito and Klein included.

They shared a look and Kirito shook his head as Klein's eyes blazed with indignation. Not for himself but for his friend.

 _Don't._

Kirito wanted to shout it at Klein. But couldn't. Doing so would draw attention to the fact that he was a beta tester and that was something he didn't want.

In the oppressive silence, only the evening BGM from the NPC orchestra played quietly. No one tried to speak. If anything was said, then at that instant you would be labeled as one of «those guys»—that was the likely fear on everyone's mind. Just like it was on his mind.

"Kibaou-san. «Those guys» who you're referring to are…the original beta testers, right?"

With his arms crossed, Diavel showed the sternest look he had worn up till now as he asked for confirmation.

"Obviously."

With the thick metal pieces of his scale mail clinking over the leather he wore, Kibaou gave a glance towards the knight behind him, and then continued.

"Those beta testers, on the day this shitty game started, dashed from the Starting City and disappeared. They left behind over 9000 people who didn't know left from right. They monopolized good hunting grounds and profitable quests, got only themselves stronger reservation, and then always feigned ignorance about it afterward. . .There should also be some in this group, some sly people hiding their beta status and thinking of joining the Boss Fight. I say we should make them kneel down and spit out all of the gold and items they stockpiled for the sake of this operation, and that they cannot be entrusted with the lives of our party members!"

Just like his name, Kibaou cut off his condemnation with a snap of his teeth, but still, no one tried to raise their voice to speak. As a member of the original beta tester group, Kirito clenched my teeth, held his breath, and continued to keep silent.

Now wasn't the time to start problems. They were fighting the first Boss in SAO tomorrow. That wasn't the only reason though.

About one week earlier, he had bought a certain piece of information from Argo—to be precise. He had requested her to investigate something. To find out the estimated death toll for the original beta testers.

The SAO closed beta test that had been conducted over summer vacation had accepted only 1000 people. Every participant was later given the priority purchase rights for the official-version package, but considering the login status at the end of the test period, his guess was that not all 1000 testers had moved to the official service. Probably 700 to 800 people—that was most likely the total number of original beta testers at the start of the death game.

However, finding out «Who is an original beta tester» was not so simple.

If a player's colored cursor had a [β] mark, then of course it would be easy—having said that, it could be called fortunate that such a mark did not exist, and all of their avatars' appearances had been reset everyone's true appearance in reality due to the GM Kayaba Akihiko's forethought. The only clue someone could go by was the name, but many had probably changed their usernames from the beta to the official release. Incidentally, the reason that he and Argo were mutually certain that the other was an original beta tester was related to how they met. But that was a story for a different time.

Despite the difficulty of the task, it took her only 3 days to give him a number.

"That's bullshit!"

 _Crap._

Kirito dropped his head.

Next, to him, Klein was on his feet and striding towards the fountain. He should have known Klein wouldn't be able to keep a cool head with Kibaou bad mouthing the beta testers.

"300 people. That is the estimate for the death toll of original beta testers."

Klein had a fist clenched at his side.

"That means, within the current death toll of 2000, 1700 were new players. Percentage-wise, the new player death rate is about 18%. On the other hand, the original tester death rate is—close to 40%. Prior knowledge and experience does not mean safety. We're all stuck in this world together. And it's gonna take all of us working together to escape. If you don't want to work with beta testers, that's fine. . ."

The crowd watched as Klein pointed to one of the exits in the plaza.

". . .Pick a door."

Kibaou's face had gone red in a way that wasn't possible IRL.

Moving to stand in case the hater made a move towards his friend Kirito was stopped by another voice.

"May I speak?"

A rich and forceful baritone resounded through the evening plaza. There was a silhouette moving forward and coming out from the around the left end of the crowd.

Huge. His height probably was over 180cm.

An avatar's size was said not to have any effect on one's stats, but the rustic two-handed battle-axe slung over his back certainly appeared lightweight to him.

His appearance, too, was impressive and did not lose to his weapon. A completely bald head, and chocolate-colored skin. However, that radical customization actually suited his chiseled face very well.

Moving forward near the fountain, the muscular giant lightly bowed to the other forty-odd players, and then turned to Kibaou who had a dramatically different height.

"My name is Agil. Kibaou-san, what you mean to say is that many beginners died because original beta testers did not take care of them, and that they should accept that responsibility and apologize along with giving reparations for it, is that correct?"

Th. . .that's right."

Kibaou, momentarily overwhelmed by both Klein and Agil speaking out, took a step back, but returned forward, and then glared at the axe user called Agil with his blazing, small eyes, and shouted.

"If they had not left us behind, 2000 people would not have had to die! Moreover, they were not just any 2000 people, most of them were top-ranked veterans from other MMOs! If those stupid testers had properly shared information, items, and money, then there would have been 10 times as many people here right now. . .no, by now we would have broken through the 2nd or 3rd floor!"

"That ridiculous!"

Klein was shouting now and Agil was left standing between the two. Towering over them like a parent did to two bickering children.

"My friend Kirito is a beta tester!"

Kirito's eyes grew as all eyes followed Klein's finger and landed on him.

"I met him the day this game started. Before we even knew that we were trapped he showed me the ropes, and when Kayaba made his announcement he didn't hesitate to bring me or my friends with him. Even though he knew it would slow him down."

Whispers started up throughout the plaza again as Kirito stood up from his seat frowning at Klein who at least seem contrite about what he had done. Klein knew he didn't like being the center of attention.

However, more than that, it wasn't smart to reveal his status as an original tester by objecting here in this situation, no matter what they thought about it.

Right now, about four to five hundred remaining original testers were mixed haphazardly among the new players. Level and equipment-wise, they could no longer be said to stand out. In this situation, even if someone revealed themselves as an original tester, let alone progressing towards reconciliation, a dangerous witch hunt might arise instead.

At worst, the front line players would divide themselves between beginners and testers, and they would start fighting. That had to be avoided at all costs. Because, in SAO, player attacks were allowed in the fields and dungeons collectively known as the «Outer Area». . .clearing all one hundred floors of the castle would be hard enough with everyone working together. Divided?

 _We wouldn't stand a chance._

"I don't know about the money and items, but I believe that there is in fact information from them."

Agil the axe warrior again responded in a rich baritone. From the huge pouch on his muscled and leather armor-covered waist, he took out a simple sheepskin-bound book item. On the cover, there was a «Rat Mark» designed with round ears and three whiskers on each cheek.

"This guidebook, you got it too, right? It's freely distributed from the item shops in Horunka and Medai, after all."

"I got it. What about it?"

Kibaou's sharp voice made Kirito stop his walk down the steps. Agil put his strategy guide back in his pouch, and said with his arms crossed.

"This guide, whenever I reach a new village or town, is always found in the item shop. You must have noticed that too. The information comes too quickly, don't you think?"

"So what if it's too quick!?"

"It means that the ones who provided the information on monsters and map data that appear in this, cannot be anyone other than the original beta testers."

The players went abuzz all at once. Kibaou closed his mouth sharply, and the knight Diavel behind him nodded in an 'I see' way

Agil turned his gaze over the assembled group and spoke in far carrying baritone.

"You see, there is information. And even still, many players died. I think the reason for that is because they were veteran MMO players. They measured SAO with the same rules as other titles, and missed points that they should have noticed. However, now is not the time to hunt down who is responsible for those casualties. Whether we are or aren't responsible, it will influence this meeting, this is what I think."

The two-handed axe user Agil's attitude was very imposing and his argument was also extremely straightforward, and so Kibaou clenched his teeth as it seemed that he couldn't find any chink in what had been said. If anyone else other than Agil had claimed the same thing, then Kibaou would probably counter with 'Saying that means you are an original beta tester

But, as it was now, all he could do was glare at the giant with hatred.

Still standing on the fountain's edge behind the two confronting each other silently, Diavel nodded once more as his long hair swayed and was dyed purple from the setting sun.

"Kibaou-san, I can also understand your point. I, too, went into fields without knowing left or right, and finally arrived here after many near deaths. But, as this Agil-san said, isn't it now the time to look forward? Even original beta testers. . .no, especially original testers, we need their fighting strength for this boss fight. If we removed them, and that resulted in the attack failing, what would be the point?"

The atmosphere change from 'condemning original testers', and Kirito breathed a sigh of relief as Diavel continued.

"Everyone, I'm sure you each have your own thoughts and feelings, but right now, I would like for you to cooperate to break through the first floor. If there are people who will not fight alongside original testers under any circumstance, then it is unfortunate, but you are free to leave. For a boss fight, teamwork is more important than anything else."

Sweeping his gaze across everyone, the knight finally stared at Kibaou with a serious look. The cactus head swordsman took that gaze for a while, but made a huge snort and then spoke in a stifled voice.

". . .Fine, I will obey you here. But I want it to be clear in black and white, that it is only up until the boss fight is finished."

Turning around, Kibaou retreated from the front of the group with his scale mail clinking. The axe user Agil, too, spread his arms to show that he had nothing more to say, and returned to his previous place.

"Great!"

Diavel clapped his hands bringing the attention to him once more.

"Now, I will hand the meeting over to Kirito."

The self-proclaimed knight sounded amused as he spoke but Kirito let that go. There had already been too much excitement today.

 _Let's just get this over with._

He hadn't wanted to do the meeting in the first place. It was all Klein's idea. Organizing the event, and posting a job offer in town for someone to 'open' for him. Because according to the samurai he didn't have the personality to keep the attention of hundreds of people on him while he spoke.

"Aincrad's First Floor Boss is a gigantic Kobold."

He started immediately and was glad to see that nearly everyone in the plaza was paying attention. Diavel was the showman. All he was here to do was to inform the group of what they would be facing when they fought the boss.

"The weapons it uses include a huge axe and a buckler. Once engaged, 12 heavily armored Kobold royal guards will spawn to defend the boss. He has four health bars and when the last dips into the red zone he will switch to a Talwar. His attack patterns can change too, so don't get lax. Keep your guard up until the fight is finished."

Pinching his index finger and thumb together he swiped his hand down. In front of him, his menu opened and he selected the picture he had taken of the boss room days ago when he and his _'guild'_ had discovered it. It had only been for a brief moment before they fled.

The sole purpose was to take the picture that was now displayed for the crowd.

"There are forty-four of us, and we'll enter here."

Kirito tapped at the bottom of the picture leaving a red dot behind.

"Illfang, that's the boss' name and his sentinels will be here."

Another red dot ruined the picture, this time at the top.

"We want to meet in the middle. Here."

Now there were three dots.

"Don't go past this point. If the fight isn't going our way we need to be able to retreat. The plan if four us to split into two groups. Twenty-two to fight the boss. And twenty-two to fight the «Sentinels». Depending on how strong the «Sentinels» are the plan may change to have more players fighting against the boss. As for the distribution of loot, money earned will be divided equally between all players evenly, and the party that defeats the boss will get the EXP."

Looking around the plaza Kirito saw Klein giving him a thumbs up. His friend thought his speech would end there. That was the plan they had come up with after all. But Klein had strayed from the plan when he confronted Kibaou. So he was going to tweak the plan as well.

"One last thing before this meeting ends. We don't have to beat the boss on our first try."

For the first time since he began talking the crowd started whispering.

He continued as if they were still silent.

"I know everyone wants to show the players who are still alive that we can beat this game. That goal is an important one. But so is staying alive. We based our strategy on information from the beta. Games can change between the beta period and the official release. When we actually fight the boss, if the boss' appearance or attack pattern were completely different. . .or anything else like that, we may need to retreat and regroup. Understand?"

Most of the crowd seemed to get what he was saying and he was sure they would explain it to those who didn't so Kirito moved away from the fountain.

Only to stop before he took more than two steps.

"Don't anyone be greedy."

All eyes were on him again.

"The «Last Attack Bonus». A player who deals the Last Attack on monsters receives more experience and are more likely to obtain rare drops known as "Last Attack Bonus Rare Drop" rather than assists. This boss battle isn't about leveling up. It's about beating the game."

In the front row, Kibaou glared at him.

If Kirito had to guess it was because he was now the only beta tester in the game that was _'out'_ so to speak. The magnet that would attract all the hate from anyone who felt the beta testers had wronged them because he was the only one they could hate.

He was now, whether he liked it or not, the face of the original beta testers.

* * *

 **Third Chapter up!**

 **Leave a review with what you think so far!**


	4. The Meeting Pt2

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Sword Art Online

* * *

Asuna's selection of food for the past three. . .or was it four days?. . . consisted of the cheapest black bread from an NPC baker, and a bottle of water that could be filled as many times as you liked from the fountains that were scattered throughout town.

Even in the real world, she hadn't enjoyed eating that much, but the food and drink in this virtual world was so bland that it was beyond description. No matter how much you gorged yourself on luxurious food, not even a single morsel would reach your real body. She thought it would be better if the food system and the sensations of hunger and satiety did not exist at all, but, when your stomach was empty three times a day at mealtimes, the hunger would not dissipate until you had eaten some virtual food.

Even so, she had recently become able to cut off this fake hunger by using willpower only when she went into the Labyrinth, but after returning to town, she had to eat. She bought the cheapest items on the menu as an act of minimal resistance, but she found it strangely annoying that even a dry and coarse piece of black bread seemed delicious in and of itself as she tore it apart and chewed it little by little.

At the center of the town of Tolbana, Asuna sat on a simple wood bench in the corner of an open fountain space and continued to move her mouth to chew while keeping her hood low over her eyes. She had finally finished half of the piece of bread, which was comparatively big for a price of 1 Cor, when—

"Those are pretty good, aren't they."

That familiar voice was coming from her right. She stopped her hand that was just about to tear off a piece of the bread, and threw a sharp glance.

The person who stood there was the man that had told her about the meeting earlier. The black-haired and grey coated one-handed swordsman.

A troublesome person that had used some method earlier to move her outside after she had fainted inside the depths of a Labyrinth, and had forcibly reconnected her path which should have been severed then.

The moment she realized that, her cheeks grew hot. Even though she had said her ambition was to die, he was seeing her here, shamelessly eating a meal as soon as she came back alive. A strong embarrassment ran through her entire body, and she did not know what to do at that moment.

As she remained awkwardly stiffened like that while holding the half-moon shaped black bread in both hands, the man coughed slightly, and then said in a low whisper.

"Mind if I sit down?"

Normally, she would have left the bench without a word, and moved away without turning back in this kind of situation. However, right now, she was assailed by a stunned confusion she rarely experienced in this world, leaving her unable to react. Perhaps interpreting Asuna's stiffness as a sign of approval, the man sat down at the furthest distance possible away from her on the right side of the bench, and began searching through his coat pocket. What he took out was a round, black-colored object—a black bread worth 1 Cor.

At that instant, Asuna momentarily forgot about her embarrassment and confusion, and instead looked at the man in amazement.

"Do you really think its good?"

He had to.

Judging by his ability to be able to go that deep into the Labyrinth and the grade of the equipment all over his body, this swordsman should easily earn enough money to choose from a decent course menu at a restaurant.

Hearing this, the man raised his eyebrow outrageously, and then nodded deeply.

"Uh huh. Since coming to this town, I eat it every day. . .course I've got a trick to make it taste better."

"A trick. . .?"

Not understanding his meaning, she shook her head under the hood. Instead of answering, the swordsman put his hand in the pocket opposite from the one earlier, and took out a small unglazed pot. He put it on the center of the bench, and said.

"Try using this on your bread."

The phrase _'use it on the bread'_ momentarily confused her, but she then realized it was a net game phrase, similar to «Use the key on the door» or «Use the bottle on the fountain». She hesitantly extended her right hand, and tapped the pot lid with her finger. From the pop-up menu which appeared, she selected «Use», and then her fingertip started to glow with a faint purple light. In this state which was called «Target Selection Mode», she then touched the half-eaten black bread in her left hand.

Then, with a small sound effect, one side of the bread was smeared white. The thing that had been fully, or rather, thickly applied to it was, no matter how you looked at it-

". . .Cream. . .?"

She hesitantly bit into the cream-covered black bread still held in her left hand.

At that moment, the taste of the normally dry and coarse bread spread inside her mouth as if it had transformed into a certain country-style cake with a heavy texture. The cream was sweet and smooth, along with a refreshingly yogurt-like sour taste. As she was struck by a feeling of fulfillment that numbed even the insides of her cheeks, Asuna dreamily stuffed the bread into her mouth with two, three bites.

"I got it from the quest, the «Heifer strikes back». It's the quest in the village before you get to this one. You want to know how I did it?"

To be honest, her heart was moved. With that yogurt cream, even the 1 Cor black bread could become a magnificent feast.

It was a false fulfillment from the taste recreation engine, but she wanted taste it once more. . .no, to eat it every day if possible, is what Asuna couldn't help but think.

However—

Asuna lowered her eyes, and shook her head gently beneath her hood.

"I appreciate the offer. But, I didn't come to this town to eat good food."

"Hmm. Then, for what purpose?"

The swordsman's voice, while it could not be said to be an especially beautiful voice, did not have a single part of it that was unpleasant to the ear, and it had the cadence like that of a boy somehow. Maybe because of that, Asuna spoke without being conscious of it the thing deep inside her heart that she had spoken of to no one since coming to this world.

"So I don't lose sight of who I am. I don't want to lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away. I'd rather stay the way I am until the last moment. Even if a monster beats me and I die. I won't lose. . .to this game or this world. No matter what."

Asuna—Yuuki Asuna's 15 years of life had been a series of battles. Beginning with her kindergarten entrance exam, she had had an endless number of challenges big and small imposed on her one after another, and she had overcome them all. It was set so that even one failure would make her a worthless person, so she continued to brush aside that heavy pressure.

A new challenge with the name of «Sword Art Online» had come upon her at the end of these 15 years of fighting, but she probably could not beat this challenge. With rules and a culture that were far too unknown and far too different, this was a type of battle that a single person's strength could not do anything about.

This was the required winning condition: 'Reach the top of the 100 floor floating castle, and beat the final enemy.' However, one month after the game started, one-fifth of the players had already fallen, and furthermore, if what was said at the meeting was true, most of them were experienced veterans that were confident in their abilities. The remaining fighting force was too small, and the distance that blocked their way was too long.

"I wouldn't want a party member dying on me."

After a few seconds, Asuna wondered, 'Why would he say that?'

She met this swordsman for the first time just this morning, so there should be no reason for him to apologize. When she glanced at the person beside her from beneath her hood, the grey-coated man that was sitting lightly on the bench rested both elbows on his knees and hung his head down.

 _"Maybe. . .perhaps he sees the same thing in me that he saw in that other man?"_

The one that had stood up for beta testers during the meeting.

She had been listening with the _'Klein'_ she recalled his name had explained who the swordsman next to her was. . .and what he had done when this death game had started.

"Why did you help him. . .Kirito?"

Again her mouth moved faster than her brain as she asked the question. She had even used his name. Something she didn't normally do because why bother learning someone's name when they were going to die anyway?

"Him? Ah, you mean Klein. . ."

Kirito didn't look up from the ground. He hesitated and Asuna almost told him to forget about her question when he spoke.

"I helped him because. . .he was my friend."

"Your friend?"

Hadn't Klein said they had met only hours before? A few hours was long enough to become friends, yes, but to get to the point where you were willing to risk your life for each other?

Underneath her hood, Asuna shook her head. That was crazy.

"Yeah, that's why I'm not a solo player like I planned."

A quiet gasp only she could hear came from her throat at the confession she was hearing.

"I wish I could say that I was a hero like he makes me out to be. . .but I'm not. I didn't help him because it was the right thing to do. . .or because it was what a hero did. My reasons were entirely selfish. I didn't want to lose my only friend. If I hadn't spent those few hours teaching him how to play the game I would have left Klein in the Town of Beginnings. And when he said he had friends. . ."

Kirito shook his head.

"What Klein said at the meeting was a lie. I didn't agree to help them without hesitation. No, I almost left all of them back at the start of this game."

"Ah, come on, Kirito! Why'd ya have to keep saying things like that?"

A boisterous voice pulled Asuna's attention from Kirito. Looking over to where she could here the voice coming from she saw the same man that had defended the beta testers during the Boss meeting.

Klein, was his name.

"Hey, Klein."

Hanging his had at the unenthusiastic greeting Klein sighed.

"Kirito, if you talk to people like that, they're gonna think you don't like them."

"Why would I care if people think I like them?"

Kirito asked tilting his head.

"We're fighting for our lives every day in this death game, Klein. I don't think popularity matters."

"It's not about popularity, Kirito. You're going to be a guild leader soon and occasionally we may need to team up with other players. But if our guild has a reputation for having a standoffish leader...?"

Klein trailed off as he leaned forward waiting for Kirito to finish the sentence.

"They won't want to work with us. I don't mind."

Watching the two Asuna should have been annoyed that she was being ignored. After all, she and Kirito had been having a conversation before Klein found them and interrupting was rude of the samurai player.

Instead, she fighting the giggle rising in her throat. Laughter had been another thing that had been absent from her since SAO launched. Now, watching the interaction between the two players who seemed to be exact opposites yet were somehow friends she was struggling not to laugh.

Lucky for her Klein sighed and waved before walking back to the party going on in the courtyard. Obviously seeing that he wouldn't be getting through to Kirito tonight.

"Here. . ."

Kirito pinched his fingers together and slid them down through the air opening his menu.

Seconds later Asuna blinked as a window opened in front of her.

"I noticed you were left out when everyone started forming parties together at the meeting."

"Not even."

Asuna stared at the question bobbing in front of her. Yes? Or No?

"Everyone else seemed to be friends already, so I just stayed out of it."

Raising her hand she tapped the green icon accepting the party invite.

"Cool. That makes nine of us, which should give us enough time for Switch and POT rotation."

". . .Switch? POT. . .?"

"I'll explain in detail later."

Kirito looked around the courtyard as laughter and cheers rang out.

"If we talk here it will never end. The place I rented in this town is on the second floor of a farmhouse at the cost of 80 Cor12 a night, but it has two rooms that come with the bonus of getting all the milk you can drink, it has a bed with a scenic view, and on top of that there is also a bathroom attached. . ."

Extending forward at a godly speed like her«Linear» Asuna grabbed the grey coat's collar with force just shy of triggering the Crime Prevention Code. Then in a low husky voice barked out forcefully.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Although she had said it herself already, Asuna thought that, among all the acts within this world, the only act that could be called real was «sleep».

Everything else was a virtual imitation. Walking, running, talking, eating, and fighting. It would not be a lie to say that all these actions were nothing but data-code calculated by the server that ran Sword Art Online. Since, no matter what one's avatar did, the body in the real world that was lying down somewhere would not move a single finger. The only exception was when the avatar slept on a bed, and one's real brain also went to sleep. Therefore, she wanted to at the very least sleep soundly which was done when she slept at town inns—however, this was actually rather difficult.

She got caught up in the heat of battle when she fought in fields or dungeons, so she had no time then to look back and reflect, but when she returned to town and laid down on the bed of her single room, she would inevitably replay her actions from a month ago in her mind. Why, on that day, did she have such an unusual whim? Why had she not been satisfied with just touching the Nerve Gear? Why had she put the grim headgear on her head, and say the single phrase "Link Start"? —That was what she thought about.

She would fall into a shallow sleep while thinking of such regrets, and naturally saw bad dreams. Her classmates, ridiculing Asuna at having hugely stumbled at the important time of their third year of junior high, all because of a mere game. Her relatives, pitying Asuna for have dropped out from the race that would continue on during the many years ahead. And—her parents, staring at Asuna's comatose body on the bed of some hospital, with expressions that she could not see.

With a trembling body, she would suddenly jump up in bed and see at the time displayed in the lower left corner of her vision, indicating that, even though a long time had passed since she went to sleep, the actual amount of time she had slept was less than three hours. After that, no matter how many times she closed her eyes, she simply could not fall back asleep. Then again, if she had slept properly every night, she might not have been able to drive herself to fiercely fight for three or four days continuously in the dungeon.

Therefore, Asuna had always wanted to at least spend the money she saved up on a high-class bedroom and bed. The rooms in this world's inns were all narrow and gloomy, with beds made out of unknown materials that were rustling and hard. If it was made of Italian high-elastic and high-tech urethane foam…or at the very least normal cotton, she might have been able to turn her three hours of sleep every night into four hours. And speaking of things she wanted, she wished that there was a bathroom or at the very least a shower attached to the rooms. Even though bathing here was nothing more than a virtual experience and her body in the real world would probably be regularly washed by the hospital staff, this was just a problem of feeling. She was already prepared to die alone in the depths of the Labyrinth, but before that she wanted to just once, even if it would only be virtual, dip her hands and feet as much as she liked into some warm water. And that ardent wish of hers had been directly hit by the Kirito's words.

"What did you say?"

Asuna asked again with a hoarse voice, while unconsciously grabbing the other party's collar. If she wasn't having a hallucination in her brain's hearing, Kirito had really said just now that..

"A-All the milk you can drink?"

"After that."

"I-It has a bed with a nice view. . .?"

"After that."

"T-There's a bathroom. . .?"

She hadn't heard wrong after all. After letting go of his collar, Asuna continued as if becoming impatient.

"We can talk there. Let's go."

"O-Okay. . .?"

. . . .

The farmhouse that the black-haired swordsman had rented was situated along a small pasture in the eastern part of Tolbana. It was much larger than she had expected. If the barn and main building were included together, the place would be about as large as Asuna's house in the real world.

A beautiful stream flowed through the side of the farm grounds, and the installed small waterwheel made peaceful *pitter-patter* sounds as the water passed through it. At the two-story main building, there lived an NPC farm family on the first floor, and the cheerful missus of the house directed a wide smile at Asuna when they arrived at the entrance. There was an old woman who was sleeping on a rocking chair near the fireplace and had a golden [!] mark—the indication for a quest starting point—floating above her head that was worrisome, but she ignored it for now.

Asuna followed the swordsman up to the massive staircase to the second floor, where there was but one door at the end of a short corridor. When the swordsman touched the doorknob, there was a sound of a lock opening automatically. Had it been Asuna who touched it, this door would definitely not have opened. It was completely impossible to unlock rooms rented out to players even with the «Picking»13 skill.

"This is it."

Kirito pushed open the door and made an awkward welcoming gesture.

". . .Thanks."

Expressing her gratitude in a low voice, Asuna then entered the room—and at that moment, she cried out unintentionally.

"W-What is this? So large. . .T-There's only a thirty Cor difference between this and my room!? I-Isn't it too cheap. . .?"

The room the two of them were in right now was at least twenty-tatami. If the door that could be seen on the east wall was the bedroom, then that room was certainly about the same size as well. And on the western wall, there was a door with a [Bathroom] plate hanging on it. Those alphabet letters, inscribed in a strange typeface, seemed to release a magical attractive power to Asuna. The swordsman quickly unequipped his one-handed sword from his back and the defensive equipment on his hands and feet, and comfortably sank his body into the soft-looking sofa among the set of furniture that was simple yet possessed an excellent ambiance.

After giving a long stretch of the body, the swordsman looked at Asuna, who had been lost in thought for a while, and then he cleared this throat and spoke.

"Bathrooms over there if you want to use it."

"Ah. . .o-okay."

Asuna couldn't believe that she would visit someone else's room and then suddenly rush into the bathroom, but it was too late to show restraint now. As she muttered "Well, then" and headed to the door, the swordsman's voice called after her.

"Oh yes, I'll tell you just in case, but even if it's called a bath, it's not the same as in the real world. The Nerve Gear seems to be inadequate at recreating a liquid environment…So, don't set your expectations too high."

* * *

o0o

Kirito didn't know why he was still talking. Asuna clearly had only come to his room to use the bathroom given how she had freaked out in the courtyard.

 _Just let her get on with it._

He wasn't a talkative person, to begin with. So he didn't get why he was trying to drag out their conversation.

"As long as there is a lot of hot water, I don't desire anything more than that."

Answering with complete sincerity, Asuna opened the bathroom door. She slipped inside and then immediately drew back the doorknob firmly.

Leaning back on the couch Kirito looked up at the ceiling thinking about how the boss fight would go tomorrow. Trying to stay focused on that in order to withstand the urge to look at the bathroom door.

As his body sank deep into the sofa in the living room, he thought he had the urge under control. Then he heard it.

". . .Uaaa. . ."

A low long moan came from the bathroom.

Biting his lip he closed his eyes trying not to listen to closely.

Because the room was under _his_ name, and Asuna was in _his_ party the usual privacy noise barrier that was in most rooms wasn't turned on. . .meaning even without a high listening skill, he could hear everything.

He would just have to wait it out and when Asuna came out he would explain as best he could, how to work in a party. Then they would go their separate ways for the night and meet up tomorrow to take on the boss.

All he had to do was last the next maybe ten minutes as she showered.

". . .Uaaa. . ."

 _I can't do this._

Moving at speeds he usually reserved for battles he stepped up to the hallway door and left the room leaning against the door with his back.

He would just periodically open the door every few minutes and when Asuna was out of the bath he would tell her he just stepped out for a minute to get something. And hopefully, she would not press the matter.

"Kirito!"

"Klein?"

Kirito eyes grew as his friend walked down the hall. Glancing at his room he gulped as the image of Klein entering the room and seeing Asuna ran through his mind.

If that happened he would jump out the window and leave town.

"Sorry to bother you so late, but I noticed we got a new member to the party. What's up with that?"

Klein asked stopping a few feet away.

"You're usually not one to make friends."

Sagging in relief when Klein didn't ask to enter the room Kirito answered deliberately leaving out Asuna's gender.

"It's the player I met in the dungeon. They were kind of left out when everyone else formed their parties so. . ."

Laughing Klein waved a hand.

"So you decided to be the nice guy and invite them to ours. You know Kirito under that surly attitude of yours, your a nice a guy."

Glancing down at his feet as Klein walked away Kirito clenched his fist.

 _That isn't true._

If it was Klein wouldn't have had to beg him for help. He would have offered to take Klein and his friends with him at the start of the game.

* * *

 **Fourth Chapter!**

 **Up next is the first Boss Battle!**

 **Leave a review with what you think so far, and thanks for reading!**


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